Motoring News » Drivers

Half of fleet drivers lack proper eyesight testing

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:18:31 +0000

Article courtesy of Staveley Head

Fleet operators have a responsibility to keep both their drivers and other road users safe. While obtaining fleet insurance from a provider like Staveley Head is a good start, recent statistics have shown us that fleet operators are dropping the ball in other areas and exposing their drivers and other road users to risk.

This year, Brake’s Fleet Safety forum conducted a survey of over 120 fleet operators. Their results showed that more than four in ten operators do not offer their drivers eyesight testing, and almost six in ten do not keep any records of the last time their drivers had an eye test conducted.

What Does A Lack Of Eyesight Testing Mean for Road Safety?

The lack of eye testing policies amongst fleet operators has serious implications for how safe their drivers are on the road. Good eyesight or knowledge of the fact that you need to wear corrective lenses while on the road is a highly important part of staying safe and avoiding accidents while driving. Commercial drivers must be able to visualise other vehicles on the road as well as keep an eye out for potential hazards. Any eye problems that are not known of or treated can compromise the drivers ability to be aware of their surroundings and could also lead to misreading of road signs and trouble during journeys in low light conditions.

Should this Be the Driver’s Responsibility or the Fleet Operator’s Responsibility?

While it might seem that this is an issue that can be left up to individual drivers, the facts are that every single year, 12.5 million people in the UK miss an eye test that they are due. Perhaps more shockingly, one in every six drivers would not be able to pass a basic eye test.

Eye sight experts have recommended that eye tests are conducted at least every two years. Waiting for a problem to be noticed simply isn’t good enough – the International Glaucoma Association reports that as much as 40% of vision can be lost before being it is noticed by an individual.

The Benefits to Fleet Operators of Providing and Requiring Eye Tests

By making sure that all drivers have any eye problems diagnosed and treated, fleet operators can cut down on accidents and so decrease their insurance claims and time that vehicles are off-road for unscheduled repair. In the long run this leads to fleet operators being able to reap the benefits of decreased insurance premiums as well.

In addition to the safety and insurance benefits of requiring eye tests, fleet operators could reap extra rewards from better public perception of their brand. A separate Brake survey found that 75% of UK drivers believe that drivers should be compelled to have their eyes tested every five years. It stands to reason that a fleet operator that instituted such a policy would be considered a more responsible and caring company.

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Bank holiday may be quiet on the road

Alan — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 03:40:56 +0000

This coming bank holiday is expected to be a lot quieter on the roads than usual, thanks to unsettled weather predicted and fuel costing 20p more a litre than last year, many people are expected to be leaving their cars at home. Various motoring organisations however are predicting different things, while the RAC believes that the roads will be a lot quieter, the AA suggests that there will be about 16m out and about in their cars.

Meanwhile, esure is predicting what it is describing as a Bank horror day on British roads and estimates that there will be just short of 27m cars out in the roads, a figure ridiculed by the AA and RAC. Those who do venture out will find that there are 22 sets of road works throughout the UK, 10 less than they had to contend with last year.

365 schemes will be completed by the weekend according to the Highways Agency, compared with the 280 that were completed by the bank holiday weekend in 2010. They will also be suspending a further 95, up from 65 in 2010.

There will still be some hot spots however, these include stretches of the M25 orbital, roads in the West Country including the M5 and A303 and the A64 Scarborough to York road. The road works that will remain in place include the M1 between the junctions of 10-13 near Luton and on the A1 near Northallerton.

Heavy traffic is also expected on the roads leading to the Reading and Leeds music festivals, as well as the weekends major sporting fixtures like the Rugby League cup final taking place at Wembley. Disruption to the rail network has thankfully been minimized this year with over 1700 more trains running than there was during the 2010 August Bank Holiday weekend.

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Men are a danger on the roads

Alan — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:47:26 +0000

On the roads men are much more dangerous than women suggested a new report from the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM). Called License to Skill: Contributory factors in road accidents says male motorists, more so than their counterparts, are likely to be involved in accidents because of bad habits in driving like drink-driving and driving too fast.

Men were found to be more reckless, driving more carelessly and in more of a hurry more of the time. Even though men were spotlighted by IAM as having a higher probability of having an accident twice the number of men say they are very confident on the road as women.

Simon Best, chief executive of IAM says this study shows we need to look into the psyche of the male driver in order to reduce the over confidence and the risk behavior. And lives could be saved simply by improving the driver skills of both men and women.

This is being leaned toward as the government is going to introduce for careless driving offences, driving training even though all should consider taking it. Driving is life long, and requires lifelong training to keep up with the skill.

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Advice for New Drivers: 5 Things You May Not Know

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:37:00 +0000

An Advertorial Post

It seems that one of the rites of passage into adulthood for many teenagers or young adults is the day the driving examiner turns to them and utters the words “Congratulations, you have passed!”

What then follows for most young drivers is the search for affordable first-time driver car insurance.

It is often remarked that for many young drivers, insurance premiums are very high, especially on more powerful cars. Often insurance companies are blamed for their excessively high-cost policies for this particular demographic of driver but there is a reason for this as these five facts about young drivers will illustrate:

1. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has revealed that over 3,000 car drivers aged 25 or under are killed or seriously injured on UK roads each year. Furthermore, RoSPA also found that young drivers are more likely to be involved in high-speed crashes, single vehicle crashes, incidents caused by a loss of control of the vehicle, crashes after dark and crashes while overtaking or negotiating bends in a vehicle.

2. RoSPA also reports that one in five drivers crash within their first year of driving and one in three male drivers between the ages of 17 and 20 will be involved in an accident in the first two years after they have passed their test. An 18-year-old driver is also three times more likely to be involved in an accident than a 48 year-old.

3. 40 per cent of young drivers feel it is acceptable to break a 30 mph speed limit by 10 mph or more, according to a survey conducted by Brake, the Association of British Insurers (ABI).This is, in spite of the fact that statistics have shown that at 40 mph, nine out of 10 children hit by cars either die or receive life changing injuries.

4. Almost a quarter of young drivers aged between 16 and 21 see nothing wrong with drinking up to one and a half pints of beer, or the equivalent in alcoholic units, and then getting behind the wheel of the car to drive afterwards. A 2007 report by Newsbeat revealed that a quarter of all drink driving arrests in London was of drivers aged between 17 and 24 and similar figures are being reported in many locations across the UK.

5. The survey by Brake and ABI also revealed that young drivers were prone to driving more recklessly and dangerously when carrying other young people as passengers. RoSPA reports that the attitude of young drivers, particularly men, is often over confident and they see good driving as being able to drive the car and control it at high speed.

In isolation, these five facts about young drivers go some way towards explaining why first-time driver insurance can be so high and highlights many of the problems that are facing young drivers on the roads today.

The good news for young drivers however is that they can take positive steps to ensure that their first driving experiences are good ones and do not result in an accident or worse.

Young drivers can use ‘P’ plates to indicate that they are a new driver, which will alert other drivers to their lack of experience. It is also a good idea to ensure they do not bite off more than they can chew initially by gaining as much experience as possible driving alone, or with just one trusted friend or relative who is an experienced driver and can give further advice. Many driving instructors offer additional lessons when you have passed, on motorway driving for example, and these are a good way to learn additional skills.

Passing your test should not be seen as a licence to drive recklessly because you can, but a sign that you have only reached the minimum standard required to be allowed onto British roads safely and that it is now up to you to improve your skills until you become a truly proficient and competent driver.

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Road Rage Video – Kids Style

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:54:26 +0000

This is a great short video using kids to highlight exactly how ridiculous we look as adults when we indulge in road rage.

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How to apply for a replacement photocard driving licence online

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:16:26 +0000

If you haven’t replaced your paper driving licence with a photocard then here is a step by step guide on how to do it online. One nice feature of this is that if you have a recent passport then they can use the photograph stored for that so no new photos to send in.

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Problems in the Vehicle Tracking Market

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:32:13 +0000

2009 has been a turbulent year for the vehicle tracking market which has seen many tracking companies fall by the wayside as the recession and more specifically the credit crunch hit. But what will be the legacy of 2009 and what does 2010 hold for the industry.

Lease Financing Availability

One of the biggest problems to affect the vehicle tracking sector in 2009 was the difficulty in obtaining lease finance for customers wanting to buy tracking systems. Lease finance spreads the cost of a tracking system over the duration of the contract period and is often the preferred way to buy vehicle tracking, in most cases leasing requires no capital outlay and offers return on investment from the word go.

The availability of business leasing is improving, especially in the SME sector but not for tracking suppliers. www.TrackCompare.co.uk surveyed the major lease underwriters and found that although the lending criteria for potential customers has relaxed, the criteria for vehicle tracking providers has not and many underwriters are limiting their activities to ‘the big 5’ tracking companies.

The underwriters have reported significant losses in the vehicle tracking sector and now see it as a high risk market as should the tracking company go under, the tracking system becomes unusable and there are is little tangible value that can be recovered.

Customer Confidence Damaged

One of the biggest casualties of 2009 are without doubt the customers that bought vehicle tracking systems that were subsequently switched off when their parent companies closed. Many customers have been left with debts of thousands with no tracking system to use.

Tracking horror stories have spread like wildfire and customer confidence in tracking systems and their providers has been seriously affected. Efforts by tracking companies to offer ‘no risk’ financing systems have gone some way to restoring confidence but often means higher costs for the customer and their long term feasibility is in some cases questionable.

What Does 2010 Hold For Tracking

The vehicle tracking market is expected to double by 2012 which is great news. The tracking sector does however have a big job to do in restoring the confidence in potential buyers and suppliers should expect them to be more cautious and meticulous in their choice of partner.

The job of the smaller players and new companies in the tracking market will be more difficult in 2010, being unable to offer lease finance will make selling to companies who need a monthly payment option harder, unless they have enough financial backing to underwrite the upfront costs themselves.

This will inevitably affect choice and competition for customers, tracking pricing has fallen significantly in recent years due in part to cost reductions in technology and data but the key driver has without doubt been competition.

Despite this, from the perspective of potential tracking customers there has never been a better time to consider tracking. There are more products, more finance options and more competition in the market than ever before. By choosing the right tracking partner a business can revolutionise its operation overnight and the massive benefits that vehicle tracking systems can bring should not be overshadowed by the problems of 2009.

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All BSM needs now is driving instructors

Alan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:45:44 +0000

Nikolai Kesting and Abu-Haris Shafi from BSM declared that they intend to expand the business after completing a £10m buyout of the company from Arques Industries.

The men quickly took control of BSM when they took over just shortly after it was purchased from Arques.

They intend to hire about three thousand new driving instructors to help further extend the Bristol based business across Britain in just a two year period.

The only real problem is finding drivers, as Shafi stated that instructors are self-employed and people are wary in any economy about entering a career as a self-employed business person.

In fact, according to Shafi, since the recession the amount of pupils has not reduced, but instead the lack of instructors causing him to reduce the cost of training courses for those interested in becoming BSM driving instructors.

At the moment the BSM holds about 10% of the UK driving school market and the new owners hope to expand this number across the UK by reopening outlets that were previously closed by the former owners.

The men secured deals with Fiat and Barclays in February for car provisions over the next four years and now only need instructors to see their dream become a reality.

Kesting is formally the general manager of a subsidiary of Arques in Spain and Shafi is the former managing director of Auto Windscreens.

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UK motorists admit to talking to their cars!

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:20:53 +0000

UK motorists are talking to their Toyotas and speaking to their Seats according to new research by one of the UK’s largest used car websites which revealed that 75 per cent of motorists admit chatting to their cars.

The findings from a motors.co.uk poll of 1,200 drivers, found that 44 per cent (529) ‘sometimes’ natter to their Nissans with a further 31 per cent (373) of motor mouths claiming to ‘always’ converse with their car.

And following in the footsteps of Basil Fawlty and Knightrider, a surprising 21 per cent of men admit to talking to their cars at least ‘sometimes’. Only a silent minority, 25 per cent (298) of motorists claim never to gossip with their Golfs.

But why are so many drivers babbling to their BMW’s? The rise in the popularity of in-car sat navs could explain why more motorists have become comfortable communicating with their cars.

However not all car talk is idle chatter, some luxury models like the Jaguar XF now have a voice activated command system giving drivers a reason to mutter to their motor and the Mercedes E-class has a voice warning to tell drivers about upcoming road signs. Even the humble Austin Maestro MG from the 1980’s had a vocal warning when running low on petrol.

According to another survey from motors.co.uk, a quarter of drivers (26 per cent) admit to having a pet name for their motor such as Pablo the Prius, Connie the Corsa and Sexo the Saxo. This was despite only (21 per cent) of people giving their partner a similar term of endearment.UK motorists are talking to their Toyotas and speaking to their Seats according to new research by one of the UK’s largest used car websites which revealed that 75 per cent of motorists admit chatting to their cars.

But why are so many drivers babbling to their BMW’s? The rise in the popularity of in-car sat navs could explain why more motorists have become comfortable communicating with their cars.

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